Planned Parenthood Taken to Court for Overbilling the Government

Planned Parenthood Federation, the nation’s largest abortion facilitator, has been accused of overbilling the federal government and the state of California. A former Chief Financial Officer at Planned Parenthood in Los Angeles, P. Victor Gonzalez, claims that a California affiliate in San Diego overbilled both the state and federal government by more than $5.2 million.

Mr. Gonzalez has taken his case to federal court, citing that Planned Parenthood has taken advantage of the federal government. He has also called for a complete audit of the entire Federation.

Planned Parenthood refuted the accusations, stating that they were only doing what the law required of them, and that their highly inflated billing was completely permissible. Planned Parenthood tried to have the case dismissed on a technicality, but that request was denied by the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Mr. Gonzalez’s lawyer stated that even though it might take years to bring down the “ACORN-like corruption,” the government needs to seriously consider de-funding Planned Parenthood altogether.

That may be difficult to achieve, considering that the Federation received more than $349.6 million in government aid in 2008 and saw a jump in the number of abortions from 305,310 in 2007 to 324,008 in 2008, along with a corresponding decline in adoption referrals.

Planned Parenthood affiliates in New Jersey and Washington state have also been accused of billing discrepancies. The Washington State Health Department fined a Planned Parenthood in Spokane $700,000 for overbilling Medicaid and has demanded it be repaid. A U.S. Inspector General audit showed that New Jersey Planned Parenthood affiliates improperly billed all outpatient services at an enhanced rate of 90%.

Another case against Planned Parenthood is brewing in California. Mr. Gonzalez’s claim has led to other former employees claiming inappropriate ties between Planned Parenthood and their political arm, which has resulted in an investigation by the IRS.

The Planned Parenthood Federation of America has since distanced itself from the affiliates under investigation.